Expectations have never been higher. Thanks to innovative technology and increased competition, people understand that a better customer experience is available to them — and they're willing to look for the brands that can offer it.

The onus is on businesses to improve their approach to customers. Personalization and customization shape the customer experience, and marketing is now required to engage with individuals at an unprecedented level. If you haven't already embraced a customer-centric marketing strategy, you could be risking your company's future by resisting the transition.

You might not think that marketing has much in common with a German festival that's over 200 years old, but in fact, there are a number of things marketers can learn from the annual Oktoberfest tradition. Not convinced? Here are three surprising similarities that might change your mind.

1. It's All About Perception

Did you know that the famous festival isn't actually about beer? Although thirsty travelers come from around the world for a pint of Oktoberfestbier, this tradition, known to locals simply as "Wiesn," celebrates the anniversary of the wedding between Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The roots of the festival are in commemorating a historic event, but the popular perception of it as the "ultimate worldwide beer festival" has served it well — year after year, tourists pour into the city.

It's easy for local businesses — especially small ones with a single location — to look at the online world of e-commerce and digital marketing and feel like they exist on their own terms outside of that world. After all, if you own a local dancewear retail company, you might think that since you aren't competing directly with retail giants, you don't really have to exist in the online marketing world, instead relying on local clients and traditional marketing only. However, even though this line of thinking may keep your doors open, it could be limiting your growth potential.

Here's why local businesses can't sit on the fence anymore when it comes to online marketing.

Every autumn, customers wait anxiously as the retail world stares down the single most profitable day of the year. According to Entrepreneur, one in three Americans plan to make a purchase on Black Friday.

That means new buyers and loyal customers alike will be browsing your mobile site, apps and website for a deal. Your special offers and sales are ready to go, but is your digital presence prepared for the seasonal excitement? Can it efficiently handle the influx of holiday online shoppers?

Test Website Responsiveness

A frustrating website experience can encourage customers to turn to your competitors. Before the autumn sales begin, take time to test your desktop and mobile sites for download speed, branding consistency, ease of use and responsiveness to customers' needs. Are you making customized product suggestions? Are subscription forms easy to complete and submit?

Attracting new customers is always important when growing a business, but customer retention is no less important. For most companies, it's four- to six-times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing one, according to Relationship Building Strategist Ian Kingwill. If you aren't able to keep your churn rate low, then new client acquisitions can't grow business — they will only serve to replace the customers you've lost.

When it comes to retaining customers, brand loyalty is one of the best resources in your marketing toolkit. This loyalty is valuable and can only exist if there's a strong relationship between the customer and the company. Fortunately, this is entirely in your hands.

It can be tempting to think that online and offline marketing strategies exist in separate worlds with little to no overlap. Though this type of "channel-based" thinking might simplify the process of planning various marketing tactics and allocating funds for specific projects, it's also unrealistic. Research shows that consumers are influenced by both online and offline marketing strategies.

A recent report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau confirmed that multichannel campaigns can improve purchase intent by 90 percent and brand perception by 68 percent. But it's not enough to simply mash your online and offline strategies together — a consistent message is critical to a truly integrated strategy.

Whether you love college football, the NFL or both, the end of summer means one thing: Football season has arrived. These fall sporting events are a huge part of American culture, drawing large crowds who often turn these games into all-day events.

Given their popularity, these events are a local marketing opportunity that businesses can't afford to ignore. While only deep-pocketed organizations can afford commercial air time, in-stadium sponsorships and paid partnerships with the team, there are several steps any local business can take to use sporting events as a tool for engaging the local community. Here are some cost-effective ways to capitalize on the buzz.

In general, marketing isn't a "life or death" career. But for healthcare marketing professionals, that's not necessarily the case. Knowing how to successfully connect doctors with patients isn't only important for physicians trying to build their practice — it could save someone's life.

One of the most recent trends in the healthcare industry is multichannel marketing, which is the practice of reaching patients using a combination of indirect and direct communication methods. An example of this type of campaign might be a combination of social media posts, TV commercials and email campaigns that all share similar imagery and messaging. And though this type of marketing is effective across many industries, adoption of multichannel strategies has been slow, according to eMarketer.

While some marketers are very focused on conversion rates as the ultimate measure of success for a given campaign, there's something else worth keeping an eye on: purchase intent. This predictive statistic helps give marketers a sense of how effective their marketing message is and can help them identify not just if a message is being received, but how it's being received as well. For instance, high reach might show that consumers are seeing your ads, but if purchase probability is low, consumers are simply scrolling past your campaign. However, if you find yourself in a situation where purchase intent is high while other statistics remain low, you can use the power of integrated marketing to help close the gap between your metrics. Here's how:

Almost every business has some sort of digital marketing strategy. Even if you ignore the internet entirely, it's likely that your company is mentioned online in business directories and reviews, which means it has a digital presence whether you like it or not.

But there's a simple reason these companies are deepening their investments in digital media marketing: it works. Digital marketing's benefits are numerous and are reflected not just in performance metrics, but in how they can uplift other non-digital marketing. Here's a quick rundown of why every brand has something to gain from digital marketing.